International Postal Reply Coupon

A very rarely used postal item nowadays and not very often used in earlier times

Philatelic Sundries




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Source: André Hurtré - Postal Reply Coupons


When you're writing to somebody living in your own country, it's easy to send him a stamp for the answer. The problem is more difficult when you're not living in the same country.
The solution since october 1907 is to buy at your post office a "reply coupon" which will be exchanged in the other country's post office against a stamp covering the postal rate (surface single letter, and now air mail letter) to answer you.
There are two main postal reply coupon families :
- international reply coupon (I.R.C) which follow rules edited by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and may be used almost in the whole world and
- reply coupons from restricted postal unions (France and its former colonies, United Kingdom and Commonwealth, Arab postal union, and so on).

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This is the VIENNA FORM VI 21 used from december 1965 to december 31st 1974. ("SeSi" coll.)

Heurté states that "The New Hebrides have received 5000 VI21 in the 2nd quater of 1974". These 3 IRCs extend this to an earlier date.

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And these are two samples of the only "Lausanne" IRC issued in New-Hebrides / Vanuatu (Form 22).

Special thanks to André Hurtré for providing the two form 22 images and for additionally providing the following information:
"New Hebrides (Vanuatu) have received very few international reply coupons :
- Vi 20 0,60 FRANC-OR (3 000 sent by the UPU in october 1972),
- Vi 21 (the one shown on your site) (5 000 in 2nd quater of 1974),
- La 22 (no value) (5 000 on 23rd january 1975).
This coupon was still on sale (without the cachet) from 1975 to 1989 (and maybe later) and in 1993 with a rubber stamp "VANUATU 100 VATU".
I don't know exactly when they stopped selling them (I presume at the end of the 90's)."

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And these are two samples "SeSi" found now: cancelled with French PCH Type 26 & 27.

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